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Definition 2024

Α

Α	U+0391, Α GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ALPHA

← ΐ
[U+0390]

Greek and Coptic

Β →
[U+0392]

See also: Α., α, ά, α., ά., and Appendix:Variations of "a"

Ancient Greek

Greek letter Α (A, “Alpha”)

Letter

Α • ‎(A) ‎(upper case, lower case α)

The letter ἄλφα ‎(álpha, “alpha”), the first letter of the ancient Greek alphabet.

Usage notes

The letter represented the open front unrounded vowel: /a/, /aː/. Today, this letter is often represented by lower case α ‎(a), although Ancient Greek did not distinguish between upper and lower case.

Derived terms

(Modern Greek letters) Α ‎(A, “Alpha”), α ‎(a, “alpha”)
(Latin (Roman) letters) a, A
(Cyrillic letters) а ‎(a), А ‎(A)
(Coptic) ⲁ ‎(a), Ⲁ ‎(A)

References

Α in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Α in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
«Α» in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (© 2006–2016)

Greek

Alternative forms

(noun & adjective): Α. ‎(A.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, /ə/
In modern Greek, Α ‎(A) represents the open front unrounded vowel sound (IPA^(key): /a/), similar to the a in father.

Etymology

The Ancient Greek letter Α ‎(A, “alpha”) derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 ‎(ʼ, “aleph”) ()

Letter

Α • ‎(A) ‎(upper case, lower case α)

The letter άλφα ‎(álfa, “alpha”), the first letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.

Coordinate terms

Greek alphabet: Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Ι ι ℩ Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π Ρ ρ Σ σ ς Τ τ Υ υ Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω

Numeral

Α • ‎(A) ‎(Greek numeral)

The number one (1).

Coordinate terms

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	30	40	50	60	70	80	90
Α΄	Β΄	Γ΄	Δ΄	Ε΄	Ϛ΄, ΣΤ΄	Ζ΄	Η΄	Θ΄	Ι΄	ΙΑ΄	ΙΒ΄	ΙΓ΄	ΙΔ΄	ΙΕ΄	ΙϚ΄, ΙΣΤ΄	ΙΖ΄	ΙΗ΄	ΙΘ΄	Κ΄	ΚΑ΄	ΚΒ΄	Λ΄	Μ΄	Ν΄	Ξ΄	Ο΄	Π΄	Ϟ΄